United Kingdom journalists 'shelled' by Syrian forces

One of the activists was injured by shrapnel during the shelling and was later taken to hospital.

After the blast Mr Vowles shouts "go, go, go" as the group flee through clouds of dust towards their vehicle.

Alex Crawford, Sky News' special correspondent, said her team was present in a supposed demilitarised buffer zone between rebels and the army but that they were fired upon.

Syrian military and intelligence tracked the broadcasts of Colvin and other journalists covering the siege of Homs to the media center, and they then targeted it in an artillery barrage, the court said.

Crawford added that one of the crew members was wearing a flak jacket that said "Press" on the front and back.

"More and more civilians are being corralled into an increasingly small area of Idlib".

Crawford claimed the Syrian regime was in "clear violations of the normal standards of operation in a battlezone".

"Even when we withdrew to the nearby town, Khan Shaykhun, some 10km away, the shelling followed us there and continued".

"The intentional targeting of journalists is also a breach of worldwide standards".

"Unfortunately, we continue to see signs that the Assad regime may be renewing its use of chemical weapons, including an alleged chlorine attack in northwest Syria on the morning of 19 May", State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said on 21 May.

During the assault Ms Crawford was wearing a black abaya, a full-length Muslim dress, to "observe cultural sensitivities" during Ramadan.

"Just 15 minutes after we left, another shell hit the town of Khan Shaykhun and it has been under bombardment ever since", Ms Crawford said. Idlib is the last rebel stronghold in Syria.

The Syrian government has repeatedly been accused by rights groups of targeting local and foreign journalists during the country's ongoing civil war.

Idlib, a city in northwest Syria, is supposedly covered by a de-escalation deal agreed by Russian Federation and Turkey last autumn but has been broken this year as rebel forces at the regime clash over territory.